Sleeping beauty
by samanddianefan10
Summary: Conversations Niles, Daphne, Frasier, Martin, and David have with a premature baby Delilah Crane.R
1. Chapter 1

My Darling Delilah,

Good morning, my sleeping beauty. Does 3 am count as a good morning? I had to sneak out of the room, for I didn't want to chance waking up my wife. She hasn't been sleeping well these days, and I can't say that I blame her. Right now, all is quiet, and I just had to be near you. If you only knew how I long to hold you…I had better change the subject. I have become quite attached to you in the brief time since I first lay eyes upon you. I have not cried this much since the day that I proposed to Daphne. There, there, please don't cry. I promise that we will be together soon. You have my word.

I haven't slept in three days. I never imagined that I could love any woman as much as I've loved Daphne. I know that I've told everyone that with Daphne, it was love at first sight. And it was, you know. I just never dreamed that I would find such happiness with a new girl in my life. I just can't stop telling you how much I love you. Believe me, I have learned my lesson. If you love someone, the way I love you, you just can't let a minute go by without showing that special treasure how you really feel.

I'm sorry for crying; I know that I promised you that I wouldn't cry. I just don't think I can bear another minute knowing that we're so close, and yet I can't hold you.

I have to keep quiet. My brother and father are currently outside the door, quite curious about what we are talking about. You will meet them soon, I promise. And I know that they will love you just as much as I do. Boy, talk about your lack of privacy!

There, there. I didn't mean to make you cry. Please don't cry.

I'm sorry, my precious, but I have to leave in a minute. I have to be there when my wife wakes up. I'm sure you understand. I hope you understand, anyways. Don't you worry about anything at all. Just try to sleep, and know that my heart is with you, and it will always be with you.

I never dreamt that it would be this difficult to leave you. I will be back to you momentarily. I shall hold my breath. No, maybe I shouldn't say that. Don't you hold your breath, my love. You just..you just do what you are doing right now. Keep holding on. One day we'll look back on this night and laugh at how I fuss over you so.

Only seven years of waiting for a beautiful woman could have taught me the lessons that I needed to learn (Jungian to the end, I say) to truly love someone the way I do you. You see, 7 months is just a heartbeat compared to seven years. Welcome to the world, Delilah Hester Crane.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey there, Delilah,

Good morning, little one. I am one of your many, many, many uncles. But I hope to be your favorite. My you have the tiniest hands I've seen since your father was born! I am your Uncle Frasier, father of your cousin Frederick and son of your grandfather Martin. You came into this world two months early, but you have the hearty Crane genes. I am also your father's older brother. You see, your father was also born premature. And as you see, he survived and turned into an exemplary member of society. As I recall I may not have been thrilled at the prospect of having a brother but now I cannot imagine my life without him. He's not only my little brother; he's my best friend. I imagine that I don't tell him often enough. Just like David will likely not tell you how happy he is that you are around, but believe me, he's thrilled beyond belief. He's just a boy, and boys are like that. They are not good with feelings; trust me. Well, your Daddy is not like most boys. He's extraordinarily good with his feelings, especially when it comes to your mother. It only took him six years to tell her how he felt. Don't tell him I told you that! But once he told her, he really told her with all of his heart. There was no turning back. Your family is truly blessed. Your daddy will go to the ends of the earth to make your mommy happy, and you can take my word on that. You can tell how wonderful he is by how happy your mother and David are. Your father loves your mother with the passion of a thousand moons, although you are far too young to understand that. Someday you will, though. Someday a man will love you the way your daddy loves your mommy. For now just know that you are loved by your family with the strength of a thousand armies. If any of us could take your place in your temporary bed, you have my assurance that we would. But you emphatically are not alone. Your father and mother are sleeping in the waiting room, and your grandfather is getting a cup of coffee. Your grand mum is finishing her cigarette I'm afraid, and then she'll be in to see you. You're mother's family are flying in from England as we speak. He will be here in a few minutes. He's a fighter and awfully stubborn. I can see you have some of his traits! You have your mommy's good looks, and your daddy's gentle spirit. And you have my hairline, I'm afraid. It's time for me to go now, my precious niece. Your grandpa's waiting to see you. I'll be just down the hall if you need me. I love you, Delilah Hester Crane.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey there Delilah

Mommy and Daddy say you're just sleeping. You don't look like you're sleeping to me. You're eyes are open. Everyone said your eyes would be blue. But they lied. They're daddies colored. I wanted them to be brown like mine and mommies. You don't have hair. So you look like Uncle Frasier. You're looking at me now, which is kind of cool. I wonder what you're thinking. Are you thinking that I'm a nerd? I hope not. Everyone at school calls me that anyways. Daddy says that nerds rule the world. Just ask Bill Gates. Anyways I'm glad I can touch your hand through the incubator. Your skin feels so thin. But you are my sister and I will protect you. Look, you are smiling at me! Do you see that man behind me, the one with the silver hair? That's Grandpa Martin. You'll like him. He lets me eat ice cream whenever Dad and Mom's not around. I hear he likes to eat weird things. One time I heard him start to tell me that one time he ate chocolate pudding with barbeque chips. Then Dad got mad and told him to be quiet. Look, Grandpa just waved at us. I think he was really waving at you. He's probably sick of me. He sees me all the time. I feel bad for him because he doesn't see our cousin Frederick at all. I also feel bad for him because his dog just died. He's was kind of depressed for a long time. Uncle Frasier bought him a new Jack Russell but he isn't the same as Eddie from what I hear. I guess Grandpa at one point even wanted Dad to name me Eddie. That's okay. I wanted to name you Hilary Clinton. That didn't go over so well in the family. Then I accidentally broke a piano key and Mom and Dad were really mad at me. Then I suggested we name the baby Princess Diana. Mom thought that was cute so she forgave me. Ha! And just so you know, Dad is never mad at Mom. So it all worked out. Anyways I'm glad that you're a girl. Mom said she was happy too. There are an awful lot of boys around. It was nice seeing Mom so happy. At first I thought Mom was mad about having a girl. She cried for thee days when she found out you were a girl. Dad said it was the good kind of crying. I didn't know there was a good kind of crying. I asked Grandpa if that's what happened when Dad and Uncle Frasier cried during their first little league game? At that moment I swear Grandpa was going to do the good kind of crying too! I hope you'll be able to explain all of these emotions to me when you get bigger! Well, sis..It's getting late.. You're awake and Grandpa wants to see you. I think Mom needs me now…I think she has the good tears coming down her face anyways so it's a good chance for me to learn about them. I will be out with Mom, Dad, Grand mum Moon, and Roz. Hang in there.

Delilah Hester Crane from your brother David Crane


	4. Chapter 4

Hi there, Delilah, my first granddaughter. I'm your Grandpa Martin! I'm the one who's going to spoil you rotten. I'm going to buy you lots of things like dolls and ice cream. We're going to take Moose for lots of walks and stop off at the candy store and you can pick out whatever you like. Your mom and dad might not like it but it's okay because Grandpa says its okay. We're going to have a lot of fun. Do you know how nice it is to have a little girl in the house again? It was nice raising your daddy and Uncle Frasier, of course, but now we get a chance to do things like buy baby dolls and build doll houses. Unless you don't like those kinds of things. I learned a long time ago that you learn what your kids like and you don't force your expectations on your kids. So what I'm trying to say is that you can be anything you like and that's just fine by me. Anything at all. Whatever you decide for yourself will be supported by everyone in this family, I promise you that. We just want the best for you and we want you to be happy most of all. We're so glad that you're part of our family. I don't want to make the same mistakes I made with your father and Uncle Frasier so I want to say it from day one. I love you, Delilah Crane. I really do.

I miss my dog Eddie. He was a big part of my life for twelve years. I have Moose now, and I love him to pieces. I know you're going to love him too. He's good with David. They are best buddies. Sometimes I think he likes David better than he likes me. But that's okay. That's probably the way it should be. And David's a good kid. He's going to look out for you. He's got a good heart, a real tender heart the way his daddy has. He's going to be looking out for you, which is a good thing. Your daddy and Uncle Frasier always looked out for each other too. So you're coming into a really close family. There's lots of room for you. We're all really excited about you and can't wait for you to come home. Your mom especially is happy about having a girl. She's been around boys all her life and she gets to have a daughter of her own. She's going to be wonderful to you. She's wonderful to everyone in her life. You're lucky to have her for a mom. Well I'm not a man of many words so I'd better go. You're mom's waiting outside so I'll see my grandpa's angel later. Bye-Bye.


End file.
